Damper



Get. 24, 1944.

G. A. PEPLE, JR 2,360,888

DAMPER Filed April 18, 1942 I INVENTOR 60577444 A. P5 45, JR.

1 ATI'ORNEYS Patented Oct. 24, 1944.

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.EDAMPER Gustave Adolphusleplaln, Richmond, Va. Application April 1:8, 1942,;Serial No. 439,492

I 2 Claims.

This invention relates to "improvements in dampersizand operating .means thereforythe improvement- :being particularly applicable to airconditioning systems for regulating the .delivery of .irom 1a duct'to .a .roomto be .air-scon-ditioned.

. Intair-nonditioning systems "the common practice, to regulate the .temperature and humidity-of the :air by a for'ced air circulation :comprising-a :ductior. withdrawing air from the room and .a duct "for delivering air' to the room, the

latter :being connected with conditioning apparatus -.'for modifying the temperature and humidity of the air to theextent desired. .In order toobta'in difierent conditions in' different rooms connected to the same air-conditioning installation it is :customary to. .provide dampers in the delivery duct from the conditioning apparatus so that the quantity of air delivered to the different compartments may be individually regulated as desired. Such regulation is also necessary to maintain the same conditions in difierent compartments which are subject to different rates of radiation, etc. Such dampers may be operated by hand or automatically operated through the agency of'thermostats, etc.

The type of damper generally used for this purpose consists of adjustable louvres such'as commonly used for hot air registers in domestic heating plants. Dampers of this. type, however, are not satisfactory for air-conditioning apparatus, primarily for the reason that, except when fully open or substantially so, they produce drafts or eddy currents, with the result that the conditions prevailing in the locality adjacent the air delivery duct are diiierent from conditions prevailing in the rest of the room. In a hot air heating system the eddy currents resulting from the faulty action of the adjustable louvre type of register are not so pronounced as in an airconditioning system for the reason that the heated air in such systems is not under pressure from a circulating fan but flows only through natural convection and consequently produces little effect on the air currents in the room, regardless of the adjustment of the dampers. In pressure systems, however, the disturbance resulting from adjustable louvre dampers, particularly when the admitted air is colder than the air in the room, produces disagreeable effects.

My improved damper constituting the subjectmatter of this application serves to regulate the quantity of air admitted to the room in a manner to substantially reduce at all positions of damper adjustment thewdisturbance. of .ithezaair throughout the room iby the iin'coming-xa ir.

In the :drawing I have illustrated .aripref'erred embodiment of :my invention, .and in fthersaid drawing:

,Fig. 'i1 is :a sectional: elevation rshowing: the damper :installed xin: az duc't for delivering air through :awall :openin'g into/an-room;

Fig. 2 is asvertical sectional viewaon line of- Fig. 11 showing the damper fin front elevation;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on sline 3-.-3rof Fig. 1 showing the damper-adjustin mechanism;

is a :detail rsectionalrvliew ion "lined-+34 iof .Referring to ithe-zdrawing, 1 indicates .theduct through which aconditioned air' is 'deliveredwfrom the air-conditioning apparatus to the room 2. The duct is shown as rectangular in cross section and at its discharge end is provided with an external collar 3 which is fitted into the wall opening. A grille 4 is mounted in the end of the duct in the usual manner with its flange concealing the juncture between the collar 3 and the wall.

Supported in the duct back of the grille is a casting 5 constituting the support for the damper and its operating mechanism. The damper blades 6 are hinged, respectively, at the top and bottom rear edges of the casting 5 and, as here shown, consist of flat sheet metal plates of rectangular shape and of a width greater than half the height of the duct opening, so that when the blades are adjusted to closed position, as shown in Fig. 1, they will present converging inclined faces to the air stream flowing through the duct into the room.

The damper blades are operated in unison so that th opening through the damper constituting the air passage will always be in the middle of the duct and the inclined converging faces of the dampers will serve to direct the air through the damper opening. Any suitable mechanism may be employed for simultaneously and equally adjusting the dampers. A simple, practical mechanism is illustrated in the drawing. The casting 5 is provided in the middle of its vertical wall on one side with a rearward extension 1 in which is formed a guide slot for a threaded block 9. The block 9 is held in the guide slot by means of a slotted cover 8, and pivoted to the inner face of the block where it projects through the slot in the cover 8 are operating levers [0 which are pivoted, respectively, to the dampers 6. The block 9 has a central bore parallel with the guide slots and threaded with a coarse thread of quick pitch to receive an adjusting screw ll whose forward end projects through the grille Aand is provided with an operating knob l2. The adjusting screw 1 I is supported in a journal 13 attached to the adjacent wall of the casting 5 and is held against longitudinal movement by a sleeve l4 surrounding the screw between the bearing l3 and the end of the guide 8. 1

By this arrangement the rotation of the knob l2 will adjust the dampers to any desired position between fully closed and fully open and maintain them in adjusted position. g 3

The damper blades may be fiat as shown or curved as disclosed in my co-pending application,

the axes of rotation of said damper blades whereby when said damper-blades are turned inwardly to close the damper they will form a closure for said duct which is V-shaped in cross section, and means for simultaneously and egually turning said damper blades in opposite directions, said means comprising an adjusting screw mounted adjacent the end wall of said duct with its axis of rotation at right angles to the axes of said damper blades, a nut on said screw and mounted for longitudinal movement upon rotation of said screw, and links pivotally connecting said nut with said damper blades, re-

( ispectively.

Ser. No. 289,136, new Patent No. 2,281,615, dated,

May 5, 1942, of which this application is a continuation in part. The flat blades are cheaper to make and permit a duct opening substantially equal to the cross section of the duct, and for hand operation particularly, the fiat dampers are practical and eflicient. :While my improved damperis especially de signed for hand operation; the construction may also be used with automatic control, for example, the damper-controlling mechanism illustrated in my co-pending application above referred to. It will also be understood that the details of construction may be variously modified within the spirit of my invention and the scope of the appended claims. I claim: v

1. A damper comprising a duct, two damper bladesmounted in said .duct for rotation respectively about axes adjacent-opposite side walls ofsaidduct, said damper blades being of a width considerably greater than the distance between 2. A damper unit for air distribution ducts comprising a rigid frame of external shape and dimensions to fit snugly within the open end of a duct, said frame being open throughout substantially its entire cross section, damper vanes hinged to two opposite side walls of said frame at points tov the rear of the open end of said duct, said damper vanes being substantially greater in width than one-half the cross sectional dimension of said frame to thereby contact each other in fully closed position when substantially inclined to the transverse plane of said duct, and

means for adjusting said vanes comprising a screw mounted for rotation in bearings attached to oneend wall of said duct, the end of said screw projecting beyond the open end of said duct, a nut on saidscrew, a guide for said nut in the end wall of said frame and links connecting said nut to said vanes, respectively, whereby movement of said nut in'said guide equally and oppositely turns said vanes on their respective hinges.

GUSTAVE ADOLPHUS PEPLE, J a. 

